RHINO, as part of its effort to encourage poetry reading and writing in our schools, supports the Emerging Writing Competition begun by Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State, to promote creative writing and recognizing new literary talent in the state.

This year the winners are:

1st Place The Dollar Value of Fingers by Whitney Jones

2nd Place The Library Again by Jessica L. Walsh

3rd Place The Year of the Dragon by Pablo Otavalo

The winners read their poems and received their awards from Secretary White and Illinois Poet Laureate Kevin Stein, who succeeded Gwendolyn Brooks in that position, during a ceremony at the Illinois State Library.

“I started the Illinois Emerging Writers Competition to promote creative writing and provide a unique opportunity for recognizing new literary talent in the state,” White said. “Illinois has a long and rich literary heritage, and these poets are adding to the tradition established by legendary Illinois poets like Gwendolyn Brooks. Great poems have the ability to enrich and enhance our lives, and I’m pleased to congratulate this year’s talented winners.”

The competition is named for the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. It is co-sponsored by the Illinois Center for the Book and Kevin Stein who selected the final winners.

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RHINO Poetry is supported in part by The MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; the Poetry Forum is supported in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. Copyright RHINO Poetry.